Applying Educational Technology to Meet the Needs of Each Learner Sidney Ashworth EDUC 526 Capstone Experience in Digital

Teaching and Learning Prof. Joanne Gilbreath APU San Diego Campus LiveBinder: http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=1021417&backurl=/shelf/my Date: March 6, 2014

Sidney Ashworth San Diego Regional Center

EDUC 526 Growth Assessment Spring 2014

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Section One: Introduction-Setting the Context: At the time before beginning the Digital Teaching and Learning masters program I was in a student teaching program for special education. As I was going through my training to work with students with disabilities I witnessed how technology was impacting these students in a positive way. I noticed that students were more engaged and motivated to learn when technology resources were incorporated into their individual education plans. This is when I decided that receiving a masters in digital teaching and learning was the best choice for me to be an effective educator. I began to understand that students today have always been connected to technology and therefor made them digital natives. Because of this it made sense that technology be incorporated into their learning just as it is incorporated into their social and everyday life. I have always been an educator that believed students should have a variety of ways to show their knowledge. As I worked with students with special needs I noticed how they struggled with test taking and I feel that technology offers many alternative ways for all learners to show what they have learned. I also observed that when students have a method to show their learning that works best with their intelligence strengths they are more motivated and involved in their own learning allowing students to reach their full potential. My goals when I began this program were to learn about different types of technology, digital programs, apps, websites and methods to incorporate into my teaching methods and my students learning. I also wanted to learn how to incorporate these into daily lesson plans, unit plans and IEP goals. Another goal of mine was to understand which technologies will work best with each students individual needs, strengths and intelligences. I want to incorporate technology into student learning for students to show their knowledge to the best of their ability, have the confidence to take ownership of their learning, and to prepare them for the future. Personal Growth:

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As I have worked through this program I have learned a lot about myself and the ways I take in and express information as a learner. I understand that I work best individually when writing, reading and studying. However, I do enjoy working with others to express my ideas and get feedback from peers to develop my ideas further. I also like working in groups or with a peer to learn new information and different points of views. This helps me evaluate what I have learned and then apply it to my writing and presentations. When working on final projects I have discovered I am most motivated when under the gun. Some may see this as procrastinating but when I put projects off I have more time to develop ideas and ways of showing my knowledge. I then work best when starting a project and not stopping until it is finished. Working on one portion of a project at a time interferes with my focus and thought process. Learning more about myself has allowed me to evaluate how each individual learns best. I have always understood that we all show our knowledge best in various ways such as visually or verbally but this program has shown me many other ways that students learn best. I now understand that we all have a unique combination of intelligence strengths and there are more than I ever knew. I never thought that a student could learn best through music and be able to express their understanding of the curriculum best through music. I have also learned that each student learns best with other peers at certain times and individually at certain times and this is different for each individual as is me. Through a better understanding of my learning I have seen that students need to work at their own pace to best process and apply their knowledge. My spiritual understanding and connection with the world around me has not changed much but rather has been strengthened. I feel more confident in my own personal connection with Christ and better able to express my beliefs. The one way that I have changed spiritually is to allow Christ into my work as an educator. I always feared connecting religion with public education but have learned that I can show my love for god through the work I do every day. I have also been able to recognize how Christ has been with me through my journey as an educator. He gives me strength to overcome obstacles and strive to be a better educator.

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Completing this masters program will be a great accomplishment for me. Growing up I had very little confidence as a learner and I did not take responsibility for my learning. When I entered college I began to see that I had the potential to learn anything I wanted and had the ability to share my knowledge with others. A goal in my life has been to complete a masters program and grow as an educator. Having the support of my family and Christ to accomplish this goal has been a blessing. Professional Growth: Through my experience at Azusa Pacific University I feel I have strengthened my skills and abilities to be a more effective educator. I have also changed my approach to working with students and parents because I have learned to understand them and their needs better. Through my experience in EDUC 522 I have learned to understand each individual student and Im better able to identify their strengths and needs by recognizing their intelligence strengths. I now look for the strengths of each student and understand how to use these for students to reach their educational goals. Technology is now a tool that I can apply in the classroom to deliver instruction and for students to understand the curriculum better, make connections, interact with others and show what they have learned. In EDUC 512 I learned how to use popular technologies in depth and many applications that can be used to deliver instruction, support student learning, organization and how to incorporate technology into the curriculum. I have also learned how to create instructional videos through my experience in EDUC 514. This now gives me the skills to provide students with information that can be accessed at any time in and out of the classroom. I took a personal interest in blogging and how to apply blogs in multiple ways in the classroom through EDUC 515. In this class I also gained a better understanding of digital citizenship and the importance of teaching this to students of all ages. This class also taught me to keep up with new technology as it is always changing. This program has changed the way I believe teaching and learning can be effective because I now realize that technology has become a huge part of our lives. Because technology plays such a vital role in our students lives it only makes sense to use technology to connect with our students, teach them, and prepare them for the future. Technology plays a large role
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in all careers and students need to become accustomed and familiar with using different types of technologies to be competitive in their desired field. I now understand that technology is an effective means at reaching all learners with various learning styles and intelligences. Due to many types of technologies, students with disabilities are being given opportunities to learn with their non-disabled peers and given the tools for them to learn the same content. Thanks to the use of technology in the classroom students are being given the opportunity to reach their full potential and to achieve their goals. In my Capstone class I am completing a very important part of being an effective and an evolving educator that strives to meet the needs of every student. I have created an action research plan. These are intended for teachers to improve the classroom and learning experience for students. While mine is a personal plan it is a great experience so I will be able to use the same technique in the classroom. My plan is to exercise more often to meet a goal of ten pounds of weight loss by the end of the class. In this plan I will be doing research, recording the experience and answering the question; will the weight loss plan I have developed allow me to reach my weight loss goal? In the classroom teachers face many obstacles and/or situations we want to improve. With good research and a well-developed plan teachers are able to make improvements in the classroom and become more effective educator for our students. Technical Growth: I have learned far more than I could have expected about technology and how to apply it in the classroom and to student learning. In EDUC 512 I learned how to use the iPad in depth and different settings it offers to help students overcome some learning challenges. This class also introduced me to a wide variety of apps that can be used for all aspects of teaching and learning from organization to presentations. I have also learned how to teach students to create their own video presentations so they can share their learning with others in a way that is suited to their intelligence strengths. Using digital video in the classroom, which I learned in EDUC 514 will help me teach students anywhere at any time. I now have the ability to produce educational videos and provide students with meaningful, effective and engaging instruction to support their learning in and out of the classroom. This use of this type of technology is most
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useful to me when working with students that learn best on their own or are unable to be in a classroom setting. I feel that I can reach all learners using technology in this way. In EDUC 515 I felt I developed my skills of working with technology further as I made podcasts, vodcasts, websites, blogs and videos. It has given me the ability to extend instruction in and out of the classroom in multiple ways to best suit the needs of all learners. Life Long Learning Plan: Reaching all learners emotional and educational needs is my priority as an educator. I now feel prepared to understand each learner as I have a better understanding of the different intelligences and how these vary in each individual. I understand the importance of learning who each student is. This includes their interests, family, dreams, goals and strengths. Having this knowledge provides me with the ability to plan and deliver instruction so students achieve success and grow as individuals. I am also prepared to incorporate technology into the classroom so students can express themselves and their learning. I am committed to further research in incorporating technology with education. Not only do I keep up on new and evolving technologies, applications and websites that improve student learning and instruction I have dreams of developing applications. In the future I am hopeful I will be able to create applications that will give students a deeper understanding of subject matter by providing experiences to understand the world around them and make deeper connections. I have met individuals that are experts in the field in educational technology and I am now able to keep up on the knowledge they accumulate and apply this as an educator. I feel I have a responsibility and now the ability to reach all learners whether its in the classroom or worlds away through the use of technology. I understand that not all students learn best in a classroom setting but I can now connect with these students and provide them with learning opportunities so they can reach their full potential. I am now also a true believer in project based learning through the use of technology. I have seen how students not only learn in different ways but also show their knowledge in different ways. I feel technology gives me the power to allow students to learn at their own pace and show what they know through projects and presentations incorporating technology instead of testing. I deeply believe that
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every student can be successful if educators take the time to understand their learning strengths and plan instruction to meet the needs of each individual learner. Section Two: History of Coursework and Course Evaluation:
Name: Sidney Ashworth LiveBinder Term: Course Spring, 2014 Course Title & Instructor Name Term Completed URL:

http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?i d=1021417&backurl=/shelf/my

Key Skills Acquired - Choosing an educational topic to integrate with technology.

Comments/Suggestions This was a great starting point to begin the program. It gave me basic information of what to prepare for in the masters program.

Foundations in EDUC 511 Digital Teaching and Learning Fall, 2013

- being able to apply the projects from other classes into my capstone.

INSTRUCTOR: Joanne Gilbreath

- Learning about what the Masters program will entail to prepare me for the Capstone class. -How to use an iPad in This was a helpful class to start getting involved with using educational technology. I really enjoyed the lesson on using the iPad because it helped prepare me for the other classes.

Instructional Applications EDUC 512 Productivity Software Fall, 2013

depth and many apps that I can apply towards student learning. - How to create free

INSTRUCTOR: Mark Rounds Sidney Ashworth San Diego Regional Center

websites for classroom use and different EDUC 526 Growth Assessment Spring 2014 Page 7 3/31/2014

sources to keep me up to speed with new educational technologies. (Ed Tech 2.0) -How the filming process works from start to finish both professional and unprofessional (rule of Digital Video in EDUC 514 INSTRUCTOR: Tim McKean the Classroom Fall, 2013 3rds, lighting, burns effect). -How to create storyboards to make effective educational videos. - How to use an iPad to shoot and edit video. - How to capture and edit sound. -How to apply blogs to Evolving EDUC 515 Educational Technologies Fall, 2013 student learning in many forms. - How to create podcasts and vodcasts - How to analyze sources of information on the internet. -The different types of Learning in the 21st Century Fall, 2013 intelligences and how student learning is This class helped me further develop what I have learned in the other classes and apply it to developing instruction to meet the needs of all learners. It also helped me understand the importance of digital citizenship further. While this was the most difficult class for me in the program I really enjoyed the challenge. It I loved this class! I learned so much about planning, shooting and editing video and audio. This class change the way I look at reaching learners.

INSTRUCTOR: Jeffery Lee

EDUC 522

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affected by these INSTRUCTOR: Jennifer Courduff multiple intelligences. - How to analyze students to understand how each will learn best. - How to plan and differentiate instruction to meet the specific learning strengths and needs of each student. -Demonstrate what I Capstone Experience/ EDUC 526 Digital Teaching and Learning Spring, 2014 have learned in the digital teaching and learning masters program and how to apply this to my INSTRUCTOR: Joanne Gilbreath professional career.

was very helpful in learning about, working with, and applying technology into instruction for learners with special needs.

This class is well organized and is helping me make connections with everything I have learned in the SPED and masters program to teaching students in the classroom and elsewhere.

Evaluation of the Impact of the Digital Teaching and Learning Program: One example of a new instructional tool that I learned about in this program is blogs and the many ways they can be adapted into the classroom and curriculum. I plan to use blogs in a few different ways depending on the age and strengths of my students. When working with all grade levels a classroom blog is a great way to post announcements, assignments, and important dates and upload important material such as forms or worksheets. Using a blog this way is an effective form of classroom management for teachers, students and parents. Another type of blog I would create for younger grades would be a place to post questions, practice problems and tasks related to the curriculum. For example I could post a math problem and ask
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students to reply to the post describing the steps they used to solve it. Students can then selfcheck their work with their peers and see if they solved it correctly or if anyone found another way of solving the problem. I could also post a reading response assignment which would allow students to get feedback not only from the teacher but from peers as well. They can also see other peer examples to analyze the reading further and the teacher can post additional prompts to encourage higher order thinking. A blog could also be used as a digital portfolio because blogs archive older entries. Student progress can be easily analyzed and students, teachers and peers can see the improvements they are making. Students can also have access to the advice and comments teachers and peers have given for future reference. Program Evaluation: I have had an amazing experience at APU. The staff has been exceptional. When I began the program I thought I would run into problems communicating with the staff at the main campus because I am at the San Diego regional center but I never did. I was always able to reach people by phone and get the help and information I needed and always got quick responses to emails. The San Diego regional center had a rather small library but it was supplied with the resources I needed and the staff was kind to let me use the fax machine on many occasions. The classes I took in my credential and masters programs were well planned out and taught by knowledgeable instructors. I felt that each had a unique background in education that gave me information on various aspects of special education and digital teaching and learning. In only one class did I feel the instructor was not well prepared to teach a college course. He did however have a very interesting background working with high school students and transitioning. I learned a lot from his experiences but felt I was not given the same quality of instruction as the other classes. Many of the classes I took in the masters program were online and I meet with professors through google + each week. This was new to me but a very rewarding experience as I learned a different way that instruction can be given in this digital age. The only thing I felt could be improved from these classes is having more interaction with peers. In some of the
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classes this was handled well as we used forums to interact and group assignments were required but this was not required in all classes. This is not a complaint but rather a suggestion for the future because I feel we can learn so much more from others in a class. I enjoyed my experience with each professor but would like to give a few shout outs because I felt they and the class were exceptional. Professor Steven Cochran was not only my instructor in two classes in the credential program but also my advisor. His classes touched on many aspects of special education and made me feel more prepared for working with these students. Another was Professor Judy Cook who served as an instructor for one course and also my advisor for student teaching. She was also extremely helpful at preparing me for this career and gave the most useful and honest feedback. Professor Joanne Gilbreath was an amazing resource when beginning the masters program. She set me on the right track with advice for beginning and completing the program. Professor Timothy McKean was the most effective at conducting online courses. His videos provided nothing but priceless information for using digital technology in the classroom. Jennifer Courduff gave the most challenging course for me but also the most rewarding for using technology to reach each individual learner. I felt this class prepared me most for working with students with special needs and English language learners.

Sidney Ashworth San Diego Regional Center

EDUC 526 Growth Assessment Spring 2014

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